


Ocean Eyed Phantom

by Tiffuhnyrose



Category: The Pacific - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Merriell Shelton - Freeform, SNAFU, The Pacific, rami malek - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22942768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiffuhnyrose/pseuds/Tiffuhnyrose
Summary: When a women has a dream about her past lover, the nightmare seems a little too real for her liking.tw: mentions of death
Kudos: 2





	Ocean Eyed Phantom

His large tanned fingers ran along the waves of my hair, tangling themselves lightly until he pulled his hand away so his palm rested on my cheek. His warmth spread along my face, surely creating a crimson glow to my skin tone, as my hand moved to rest on top of his. His lips moved nearer and nearer until our mouths collided in a sweet and gentle peck—not too short, but not too long. It was just the right amount of PDA for our little picnic in the park during the hot and humid summer in New Orleans.

“I love ya so much.” His lips tickled along my earlobe as he moved to press a brief kiss to my neck.

I whispered a reply identical to his as my lips spread into the most vomit inducing, lovey dovey smile one could fathom. But I was in love, and smitten, and dumbfounded by this glorious feeling of wanting someone just as much as they wanted me.

“Wha’ do ya think we’re gonna’ do now that we’re hitched?”

I shrugged, leaning my face into his palm that was still cupping my cheek. His thumb responded naturally as it began rubbing along my sun kissed skin. “At least now, in the eyes of God, we aren’t fornicators.”

Merriell bit his lip as he stifled a laugh. “Oh but baby, how I did love fornicatin’ with ya.”

“Stop it,” I giggled, pushing away his hand as it slowly began creeping up under the hem of my flowing dress that was resting about mid thigh.

His eyes were round and mischievous as we gently wrestled back and forth with one another in the fresh smelling grass; giving gentle shoves and pats until we were both out of breath and in dire need of a good rest. 

Merriell was left laying on his stomach in between my legs. His chin rested against my lower stomach as my fingers knitted themselves into his dark, wavy hair. He watched me with light, loving eyes as his hand came up to gently rub along my cotton covered stomach. I couldn’t help but smile as he fixed his gaze on the navy colored fabric that was tightly fixed along my twelve week bump that had just recently started to show. He didn’t say anything, but his expression was a clear indication that he was utterly in love with this child that we had unexpectedly created together, which only made my fondness for him grow more intense with every loving look and caress he gave to the child growing in my belly.

“You’re going to be a great daddy Mer, you know that, right?”

He peered up at me with an unmarked expression on his face as he withheld a response. 

“Did you hear me?”

Merriell nodded, but his eyes were all over the place except for my face which made me move my hand from his hair to his chin and gently tilt it upwards. When his eyes finally found mine, they were still blank, but I knew him better than anyone and when he was unreadable, that’s when he was needing to be questioned.

“Talk to me baby.” This time he leaned his cheek into my palm as it replicated his prior actions; I loved running my thumb along the dusting of freckles that rested just below his eyes.

“I just don’ wanta’ disappoint ya’ or the baby is all.”

I shook my head vigorously, moving my shoulders off of the ground so I was nearly sitting upright. “You could never do such a thing Merriell. Don’t be so hard on yourself; you’re going to be a great daddy to her and you’re already an amazing husband to me.”

His body didn’t move besides his eyes beginning to rapidly blink as his thick black eyelashes gave him a splash of innocence, almost making him replicate a sleepy toddler. His fingers began picking at the dry cuticles set on his calloused hands–a nervous tick he had always relied on in moments of discomfort.

“I just wanta’ get this right, ya’ know?,” he whispered the words out as if they were a little secret and true, it wasn’t a side of him that he enjoyed flaunting. Not many got to see the timid and self conscious Merriell Shelton like I did.

“I do know. I’m just as scared as you are baby.”

“Ya’ are?” His lips began to relax and the crinkles underneath his eyes softened back into his skin as I nodded to him with a small smile.

“But we can do this. We have each other now. We aren’t two different units, we are one support system and you know i’m always here for you.”

This time he nodded with a soft smile on his face as he let his eyes close briefly, allowing himself to revel in this feeling of being adored and supported by another. Then his eyes met mine, holding me there in an intense stare and I could feel it. You know how you can just tell someone is staring at you–that’s what i’m talking about. I could physically feel his eyes glued to me paired with a gorgeous toothy smile. 

But suddenly, I was gasping for air. I placed my hand on my tightening throat, looking to Merriell with wide eyes for some sort of support or assistance, but he watched on with his mouth turning downwards into a slowly forming frown. I wanted to call out, I wanted to scream, and most importantly I wanted to scold Merriell for not helping me. Why wasn’t he frantic? Why wasn’t he acting like he cared? 

-

My body jolted upwards, making me jump several inches off of my pillow top mattress as my loud gasps rang throughout the dark and dusty feeling room. My chest ached from having to do so much work, but my lungs slowly but surely began evening out and falling back into their rhythm as the harsh noise of my attempts to grab onto air began to quiet. My hand was on my throat, just as it was in my dream, except this dream was different from all of the others.

I had plenty of dreams about my past lover and father to my little girl who wasn’t so little anymore, but this one was the most real feeling. It was like I could feel his hand on my stomach, I could sense his stare; even now, I could feel his digits as they combed through my hair. Except he wasn’t and he hadn’t done that in nearly twenty years. Almost two decades ago, Merriell left me and his baby girl for the war and I supported him every step of the way, no matter how much it hurts me to know that I wouldn’t be seeing him for a long period of time. What I didn’t expect was to never see him return at all.

Sure, I knew the stories about this war and I knew a lot of people who had lost husbands, brothers, and sons, but they weren’t my Merriell. In my mind he was invincible and I suppose that’s where I got it wrong. I should’ve prepared myself for the chance of him not returning, but instead I played my role of devoted mother and wife and counted the days until he was scheduled to be home. But that day never came.

Instead, I was greeted by some men in fancy, colorful uniforms as they knocked softly against the cheap wooden door of our rented, run down house that had become our paradise. Their expressions were blank and I greeted them cheerfully, expecting them to give me an update on my boy. How naive could a girl be?

My breathing had calmed now as I thought back to that awful, horrendous day, but the shakes in my body were not completely gone. They were more like small vibrations against my fingers and arms now, but they were still noticeable and still such large reminders of how I would never be over him. My Merriell, my sweet, sweet Merriell who didn’t get to see his baby girl grow up or grow old and weary with me.

I looked to my left, ensuring that my sleeping husband was still snoring away–which he was. Although he cared for me just fine, he was not Merriell. He would never be able to give me that love that Mer was able to give it to me, but instead I moved on and settled for something closer. I gave my husbands resting body a gentle caress before lifting the duvet off of my body. My legs wobbled and shook as they lifted my body from the mattress and carried me into the hallway.

It was just starting to get cold in Boston. The leaves were just beginning to dissipate and fall to the ground in various hues of brown, yellow, and orange which also meant the mornings were becoming darker and darker with the sun not wanting to rise quite as early as it did during the summer months. 

Though the floor was usually creaky, I managed to tiptoe my way down the hallway without so much as a slight squeal from the floorboards. As my hand twisted on the shining silver door knob, I nearly pulled myself back, scolding myself for doing such an odd thing, but seeing her face was something that I knew would calm me. I needed my little girl right now.

The door opened silently as I stood in the entryway, admiring how the moon seemed to set a spotlight on my daughter’s sleeping form. She lay on her back with a hand sprawled across her stomach, just like her daddy did. Her dark, springy curls covered half of her face and I couldn’t help myself - I had to get closer. Some more tip toeing ensued as I moved my body closer and closer to her bed until I was stood right next to her.

Her face was all her fathers—thick eyelashes and all. Her attitude wasn’t too far off either, although she wasn’t quite as sarcastic as Merriell was, but she definitely had his charm and little spark to her. She drove me crazy at times, but what seventeen year old girl didn’t. Her body stirred lightly as she began rolling to her left, then a minute later to her right. Her attempts to getting back to sleep were not doing very well, so I figured I could comfort her as i did when she was just a bed of curls and a diaper. I laid my hand on her back gently and began moving the pads of my fingers across her back. 

Eventually her breathing came back to an even pace and her body stayed still. I figured I’d been creepily staring and admiring my daughter for long enough so I set off back to bed, hoping that some movement and change of subject would be good enough for my brain to let me fall back asleep. However, as I was walking back down the hallway, I felt a cold gust of wind smooth its way past me.

I double checked the window just down the hall–nothing. Though it would’ve been difficult, I suppose a breeze could’ve moved all the way to the upstairs part of the house. I brushed it off and continued my journey, clutching the robe to my body as the temperature seemed to continue dropping and dropping, but what ultimately startled me was a creaking noise that clamored from the dark wood floor, but the sound seemed to come from the opposite side of the hallway.

Quickly, I swiveled my head around my shoulder, expecting my very tired daughter to be standing there, questioning why I was in her bedroom in the middle of the night, but there was nothing. The hallway was empty, excluding myself and the grandfather clock that was ticking away at the other end of the hall. To test the waters, I moved my foot back to the step it had just taken, testing the floorboards as I jabbed at it with different amounts of weight and pressure, but they never made a peep.

My mind was probably just too exhausted and creating things that weren’t there. I’d only really slept for two, maybe three hours tops–I shook my head at my ignorance in believing a mind as sleep deprived as mine and continued my steps until my feet landed on the blush colored carpet of my bedroom. My husband was still snoring away peacefully in his deep sleep–it must be nice to get a good night’s rest. I really haven’t gotten one since the dreams of him began, nearly ten years ago. 

Never the less I had found some tricks that seemed to work better than others. I usually just needed to walk around or find something to keep my mind preoccupied until my eyes were so exhausted they could no longer stay open. My little visit to my daughters room had done the trick, I hoped, as I settled into my side of the bed and began burying my body under the warm covers.

My eyes were lazily hanging open as I glanced towards the wall in front of me, set maybe ten or so feet away. I wasn’t even aiming to look and focus on anything at the moment, all I wanted was to envision and relish in the darkness of what lies behind my eyelids, but something or rather someone caught my eye. The pupils were still getting used to the complete darkness of the room, but as they became more familiar with seeing in this dimmed light, that’s when I could fully see the figure sitting in the arm chair in the corner of the room.

All I could manage to do was freeze as my elbows supported my body while I leaned my weight back onto them. At first, my thoughts were “There’s an intruder in my house and i need to find out a way to get rid of them while still keeping myself safe”. However, my thoughts began to shift once I took in the figures appearance–my eyes had to have been deceiving me, for this man was one I hadn’t seen in nearly twenty years. This man was dead. This man was gone. There was no possible way and yet–he is sitting in front of me! He is looking at me! My precious Merriell is alive and well and looks exactly like the young man who had lost his life much too soon.


End file.
